Track-brake for railway-cars.



No. 660,645. I Patniod 0 01. 30, I900. E. L. LOWE 6. J. M. MEIGHAN. TRACK BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CARS.

(Application filed Mar. 28, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheef l.

(No Model.)

No.- 660,645. Patented Oct. 30, I900.

E L. LOWE & J. m. MEIGHAN. TRACK BRAKE FOR RAI LWAY CARS.

A uagion fllgd Mar. 23, 1900. (No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Oct. 30, I900.

' 4 Shouts-Sheet '3.

I I M- (No Model.)

, No. 660,645. Patented Oct. 30, I900.

E. L. LowE & J. m. MEIGHAN. TRACK BRAKE FOR RAILWAY CABS.

(Application filed In: :28, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sh06i 4.

l\ N Q ENOCH LOUIS LO\VE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, AND JAMES MICHAEL .MEIGHAN, OF GROVELAND, CALIFORNIA.

TRACK-BRAKE FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 60, da October 1900- Application filed March 23, 1900. berial No. 9.873. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ENocn LOUIS LOWE, residingat San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco, and JAMES MICHAEL MEIGHAN,

residing at Groveland, in the county of Tuolumne, State of California, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track- Brakes for Railway-Oars; and we do hereby declare the 110 following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inventiomsuch as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention has reference to improve- :[5 ments in track-brakes for, railway-cars and tramways, and it consists in certain novel features of construction, which will be hereinafter fully described in the specification and clearly pointed out in the claims.

The object of the present invention is to provide an efficient, durable, and practical track-brake for railway-cars and which can l be employed for ordinary use and at the same time be adapted for emergencies when it is required to stop a car almost immediately to avoid accidents or for other purposes.

The peculiar construction .of our improved 3 track-brake lies in its automatic operation when a brake-shoe contacts a railway-track;

motion.

posite side of the shoe being parallel with the railway-track. The block and shoe are automatically adjustable relative to their inclined JHUl'fK LCGS through the medium of links and an .clastic connection for keeping the inclined 1 surfaces of the block and shoe always in conto tact. The brake-block is provided with a standard, which is adjustably secured in a {hanger bolted to a car-frame. This standard supports all of the brake mechanism proper through the medium of av spring at the free end of the standard and an adjustable nut secured thereon. The brake is operated by suitable devices under the control of a motorman. Adjacent .to the brake-block and secured to the standard is a collar for receiving the thrust of a pair of rollers which are pivoted to'the free arms of a bell-crank lever and v 0 or other stationary surface when a car is inf fulcrumed to cars projecting from the lower portion of the hanger. When a car, but more particularly a street-car, has reached the terminus of its route, the opposite end of the car servesas the front end for the return trip, and consequently the present braking mechanism has to be reversed one hundred and eighty degrees, so that it will be operative. To accomplish these results, we employ a gearwheel working loosely on the standard of the brake-block, this gear-wheel having a spline and groove in the standard. Consequently the gear-wheel remains stationary relative to the vertical movement of the standard; but when the gear wheel is rotated one-half its circumference through the medium of a rack the standard also revolves with its braking 1 mechanism. By this means of reversing the brakes we get the benefit of four brakes on one car. Otherwise we would be using only two brakes if they were not reversed; This reversing mechanism can be operated auto.- matically when employed on a steam-railroad by means of cams arranged on the inside of thecar-wheels, thus reversing the brakes when the cars are reversed; but to adapt our invention to stean i-roads it is not advisable f to reverse them by any means, as a single block with opposinginclines and a single shde or separate shoes will allow the braking mechanism for steam-roads to work'automatlcally It consists of a brake block and shoe hava ing their contacting surfaces inclined, the opwithout reversing the same. Forstl'eet-car service, wherethe room is limited, thereversing mechanism is preferable: as them'otorman merely pushes a lever on the platform of the car, when the brakes are reversed'antomatically in one direction by snitable'sprin'g mechanism and in the opposite direction by a simple lever mechanism. f

Figure 1 represents a vertical longitndinal section of a cartruck with our improved device thereon and the accompanying mechanism for operating the same. Fig. 2 represents a plan of a car-truck with our improved brake mechanism thereon. Fig. 3 represents the track-brake secured to a hanger. Fig. 4 represents the device in section and viewed from the opposite side. Fig. 5 represents the device in end elevation and in contact with a car-rail. Fig. 6 represents a plan of the device. Fig. 7 represents a sectional plan of the device, taken immediately under the hanger. block in detailfthela tter supported byrollers. Fig. 9 is an end elevation in detail of the shoe detached from its links, with a roller resting on its inclined top. Fig. 10 represents a non-reversible;track-brake for operating in opposite directions, but suppliedwith independent shoes. Fig. 11 represents a somewhat similar device with the shoe integral. that shown in Fig. 11, the device being in an operative position, the shoe contactinga rail.

Ourimproved devi eisattachedto a hanger B. The hanger is provided with a depending hollow body B for the reception of a mov able standard d. Said standard is integral with a brake-bloclr'D. The upper end of said standard is screw-threaded and bears-a Fig. 8 represents a shoe and brake Fig. 12 is similar in construction tonut 61 thereon. Said nut is for adjusting tlte' wear of -the brake and also for supporting the brake in its elevated-position through'a spring a The block D, previously referred: to, is inclined'on its bottom and is parallel with a 1 similar-inclined surface on a shoe '0. Said inclined surfaces'are held in elastic contact through'the medium ofa spring 1, rod 7c,-pinse, and links E, respectively.

w is a Plug hich is screw-thread-ed i-n' the face of the blockD for assembling the spring railroad track. These rubbing blocks can 1 be made of any desired material, such as ce- 1nent, leather, cast-iron, wood, or indurated- It must'beobviousto those skilled 'inra-il-' roads thatthe only expense incurred with our improved"track-brake'is that of replacing a worn-out shoe.

Secured to the lower portion of the standard d is a collar F,having a-large surface for supporting a pair of rollers -G,-each roller being on opposite sides of the standardd and secured" to a bell-crank lever, which is provided with two arms g, carrying ashaft'h,

said shaft being supported by ears f, integral.

with thehanger-body B. Secured at one end, orit may be both ends, of said shaft h isacurvedlever H for operating the braking F mechanistn throughother devices, which will hereinafter be more fully set forth.

Mounted on the upper end of the hanger-- body B is a spu r gear-wheel Iywhich engages.

a rack 'J, saidrack being secured by capsb to the hanger .B. in position by the spring a, previously rei, which engages a long groove cl in said Said gear-wheel-lis-held standard, (see Fig. 4,) and as the standard reciprocated vertically it plays-throughmhe gear-wheel I, the latter being stationary. When the gear-wheel revolves, it carries the standard with it through the medium of the spline and groove, and consequently all the braking device attached to said standard. The movement of the rack J is limited by the *bar K 'ttllil head K, (see Fig. ,2,) carrying the gear-wheel I only one hundred and eighty degrees,-which revolves the brake-shoe immediately over the track when necessary to propel a car in the opposite direction.

.n .In Fig. 8 friction-rollers 21 are shown which revolve in the bearings formed in the block D. Leading to each-roller are oil-ports 22. (Shown in dotted lines.) The sides of the shoes are provided with flanges 23 for hold.

ing the bit-ake-blocks'in place...- The brake-v leversll, previously.r-eferredwo, are connected to rods 9,..chains 10 and 15, and also to pulleys Hand 12, respectively, the latter being secured to the verticalpshaft. 14,:which extendstoihe brake-handl.e.-.

. When the rear end ofa car isemployed for traveling in an opposite direction, which will -.then bexconsidered-the front end the brake mechanism will then haveto be. reversed, and

to accomzplish tthis the racks Jr revolve the gear-wheels I one hundred and. eighty degrees-through the medii-nnofi-the rods j, con? nected. to heads 7c-.. on said racks and rea(-h-.

-barsKt and K, respectively. Secured to the zbar K". are chains .9, which; connect to a bar 1*. saidtbar ispivotedto a short arm r, which forms part of a-narm R,the latter beingsecured to asvert-i'cal shaft 1'", having. an oper' .ating-leverjthereon for the 11101301111211 to-manipulate the device. Bar .K. is held against ;the rigidstop an by means of. springsiL. NVhen .it is' necessaryto reverse the brakes, the shaftr" is turnedin the direction of the hands of a watch-, when it. assumes the posi- ;-tion showninv dottedlines, :having t-he'bar r.

beyondnthe center of the .vertical shaft r1,

thus-locking said lbar againstthe tension of,

spring-L. :When it is necessary .to reverse the brake-shoes in the opposite direction: to athat shown-in dotted lines, the-arm R is thrown in the positionindicated in full lines =.(see' Fig.12) by means of-the springs L pulling t. the bar K tightlyagainst-thestops m, previ- :When bar K is moved to.

carried-,..with its connecting-rod r, slightly I beyond: the center of the vertical shaft 1"", (shown in dotted'-l.ines,) gwhen aslightbackward movement takes place with the rods rf. The:springs lflwvhich envelop the guide-rod O, pivoted to the lever Nat 0,:press against said-lever 'and guide-block :19, thus holding the -brake-shoesinalinement with-the tracks. =Leve-r N is fulcrum ed -at 'n and .is provided with astopm for the pu-rpose, as shown.

gradually when a car is running in theordi- Thisinvention is for putting th-ebrakes on v nary manner, and it can be so manipulated for stopping a car almost instantly in case of an emergency, as previously stated. We provide a spring 19, bearing against a plunger 18, resting in a cavity formed in the brakeblock D. Said plunger contacts the adjusting-screw c. When the brake is applied by forcing down the standard (1 and brake-block D through the medium of the lever H, the shoe 0 contacts the car-track, and as thccar is moving in the direction of the adjustingscrew 0 the brake-block D rides up the incline on the shoe 0 toward and against said adjusting-screw. While said shoe is slipping on the car-track when the brake is first applied, the plunger 18 is being forced against the tension of thespring 1!), and as the brakeblock continues to ride farther toward the adjusting screw 0 said shoe is forced more firmly against the car-track, which is in contradistinction to the old style of wheel-brakes, where the motorman must pull the brakes harder and harder to stop his car. With our improved brake the motorman puts the brake on lightly, as the spring 19 allows the block D to ride up the incline of the shoe 0, said shoe pressing harder upon the car-track as the plunger 18 moves farther into the recess in the block D. Consequently the motorman gradually releases his brake to prevent too sudden a stop. If the brake were put on hard, it is obvious that the car would stop immediately, as the block D would wedge on beginning to move up the incline on the shoe 0, the spring 19 having no retarding effect on the block D. As the block D rides up the incline on the shoe 0 the links E follow the shoe (1, as the slot a admits of the upper pin 6 being pulled downward through the medium of the spring Z and plunger k. The torsional spring 25, (clearly shown in Fig. 7,) which envelops the shaft h, will allow a certain tension being put on said spring by the levers H, and consequently the resilience of the springs will extend to the brake-shoes, thus regulating the pressure on the cartracks. By this means any unevenness of the car-rails where they are connected will not injure the brake, as the springs 25 aforesaid will act as a cushion and will allow the brake-shoes to ride over any defective rails or obstructions.

Referring to the track-brakes with double shoes C and C anda single block D (shown in Fig. 10,) this device is adapted for steamrailroads and has a double incline, so that it can be operated in opposite directions Withoutreversing the shoes, It is provided with stops 27 to limit the movement of the shoes, but more especially the shoe that is not in use when the brake is in an operative position. WVe employ a double set of operating levers H and H and which are fulcrumed to ears fand f, respectively. The rollers G are provided with two sets of arms g and g, whereby they can be operated by either of the levers H and H, according to the direc tion in which a car is running. The arm 9 is provided with a slot to compensate for the radial movement of said arms whenin operation. In Figs. 11 and 12 the block D is in one piece and also the shoes C" and operates in a manner similar to the device shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 1.2 shows the device in an operative position, with the shoe 0 resting on a railroad-trark and the block D fort-ed upward on one side of the incline of said shoe C We do not con line on rsel ves to the exact construction shown. as the incline of the shoes and brakeblocks can be an arc of a circle or of any other contour without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Havingdescribed our invention, that which we desire to claim by Letters Patent of the United States is- 1. A track-hrake which maybe operated in opposite directions, provided with a shoe having an inclined top for engagement with a brake-block which has a corresponding incline on the bottom thereof, and the means for holding said inclines in movable contact when operating the same on a railway-track, in combination with an adjusting-screw for regulating the forward movement of said brake-block, for the purpose as shown.

2. A track-brake which may be operated in opposite directions, provided with a shoe having an inclined top for engagement with a brake-block which has a corresponding incline on the bottom thereof, and the means for holding said block movably in contact with said shoe when operatingthe same on a railway-track, in combination with an adjustingscrew for regulating the forward movement of said brake-block, and a spring and plunger within said brake-block and contacting said adjusting-screw for the purpose as shown and described.

3. A traclehrake which may be operated in opposite directions, consisting of two inclined surfaces in contact on a brake-block and shoe movably tied together by yielding lin ks, in combination with an adjusting-screw and a plunger within said brakeblock oper ating through the medium of a spring contacting said plunger, for the purpose as shown and described.

4. A track-brake provided with a shoe having an inclined top for engagement with a hrake-hloek, which has a corresponding incline on the bottom thereof and the means for holding said inclines in movable contact. when operating the same on a railroad-track in combination with an adjusting-screw for regulating the forward movement of said brake-block, and a plunger contacting said adjusting-screw located within a brake-block and having a standard secured to said brakeblock for operating a track-brake for the purpose as shown and described.

In combination with a track-brake, a shoe having an inclined upper surface for reoeivin g the thrust of a brake-block, said brake- IIO block .having a corresponding incline'on its lower surface for contacting the incline on said shoe, links secured to said shoe and brakeblock by pins, the upper pin playing in an elongated opening and contacting a pin or plunger, said pin held in a movable position by a spring resting under said pin forallowing an elastic movement to the brake-shoe and brake-block when contacting a railway-' for holding in position a collar, the upper end of said standard being screw-threaded for the engagement of a nut for adjusting the downward movement of said standard for contacting a railway-track as specified.

7. In combination with a track-brake, a shoe having an inclined upper surface for receiving the thrust of a brake-block having a corresponding inclined surface, and the means for holding said inclined surfaces in elastic contact, a standard extending from said brake-block provided with a nut on its upper end, a. spring supporting said nut and standard, said spring holding in position a spurgear-Wheel located on the top of a hanger, and the means for operating said spur gearwheelfor the purpose as shown and described.

8. In combination with a track-brake, a shoe having an inclined upper surface for receiving the thrust of a brake-block having a corresponding incline, and the means for holding said inclined surfaces in elastic contact, a standard extending from said brakeblock provided with a collar for receiving the thrust of a pair of rollers secured to a bellcrank lever and a spring for holding said standard suspended for the purpose, as specified.

9. In combination with a track -brake, a shoe having. an inclined uppersurface for receiving the thrust of a brake-block having a corresponding inclined surface, with frictionrollers between said inclined surfaces, and the means for holding said inclined surfaces in elastic contact with said friction-rollers, a standard extending from said brake-block which is provided with a collar for operating a brake-shoe through the medium of a pair of rollers secured to independent arms located on a spring-actuated shaft and on opposite sides of said standard, a curved lever for op erating said rollers through the medium of appropriate rods and chainsoonnected to the opposite ends of a railway-car, for the pur-v pose as shown.

10. In combination with a brake, a shoe having an inclined upper surface for receiving the thrust of a brake-block having a corresponding inclined surface, a hole within said brake-block having a spring and a plug therein, a standard extending from said brake-block provided with a bearing for receiving a pair of rollers for operating said standard, a spring and nut on the upper extremity of said standard for suspending the brake mechanism as specified.

11. In combination with a track-brake, independent shoes having inclined surfaces for receiving the thrust of a brake-block having a double inclined surface one brake-shoe operating whenthe car is go-ingin one direction,= and the other shoe when the car is going inthe opposite direction, and the means for holding said double inclined surfaces in an elastic contact, a standard extending from said brake-block provided With a bearing-surface for receiving the thrust of a pair of rollers secured to a bell-crank lever forthepurpose ofoperating said brake mechanism on a railway-rail as; specified.

12. In combinationtwith a track-brake, a brake-block having a double inclined surface for contacting independent brake-shoes,some

brake shoes operating when, the car is going in one direction,-and the other shoes when the car is going in the opposite direction, said brake-shoes being connected to said brakeblock by independent elastic connections, a standard extending from said brake-block provided with a bearing-surface for receiving the thrust of a pair of rollers secured-to a bell-crank lever for operating said mechanism as specified.

13. In combination with a track-brake, independent shoes having inclined surfaces for engagement with a brake-block which also has inclined surfaces, said surfaces held in contact through the medium of links and springs, and the means for forcing said shoes in contact with a track; said shoes being adapted to operate when a car is moving in opposite direct-ions, one brake-shoe operating 

